Tedi Thurman

Tedi Thurman

Theodora "Tedi" Thurman (born Dorothy Ruth Thurman; June 23, 1923 – September 17, 2012) was a fashion model and actress who found fame in the 1950s as Miss Monitor on NBC's Monitor, a 40-hour weekend radio show developed by Pat Weaver.

Born in Midville, Georgia, the daughter of a banker, Thurman originally planned to become a painter, studying at the Corcoran Institute in Washington, D. C.. Her career plans changed, and she went to New York for modeling. Her first shoot wound up as a Vogue cover, bringing with it many other modeling jobs and some work on television soap operas. Columnist Alice Hughes described her appearance:

She's 5-feet-7, weight 115, sea-blue eyes, long loosely combed red hair and a 33-21-33 figure. Ingredients like hers can turn the morning dew into a monsoon.

She had film offers, but only one role, in the z-grade 1954 Ed Wood movie, Jail Bait. In 1954, Leopold Stokowski needed an accomplished jaw harpist for a performance of Charles Ives' symphony, New England Holidays. Thurman was one of the 22 who auditioned, but she lost the gig to two professional musicians.